Greenpeace joins anti-Bezos protest with Venice banner complaining about billionaire tax breaks
The 'No Space for Bezos' movement — a play on words also referring to the bride's recent space flight — has united a dozen Venetian organizations including housing advocates, anti-cruise ship campaigners and university groups.
Advertisement
Activists argue the wedding exemplifies broader failures in municipal governance, particularly the prioritization of tourism over resident needs.
Greenpeace said it teamed with the British group 'Everyone Hates Elon,' which has smashed Teslas to protest Elon Musk, for Monday's banner. Greenpeace said it wanted to draw attention to the comparitively low taxes many billionaires pay while allegedly exacerbating the climate crisis with environmentally unsustainable lifestyles.
Italian and Venetian officials have strongly criticized the protests and welcomed the Bezos-Sanchez nuptials, which are scheduled for later this week.
Over the weekend, as the protests continued to make headlines in Italy, a Venetian environmental research association, Corila, said Bezos' Earth Fund was supporting its work with an 'important donation.'
This photo released by Greenpeace shows a large banner against Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' planned wedding, in St. Mark Square, in Venice, Italy Monday, June 23, 2025.
Greenpeace/Associated Press
Corila, which unites university scholars and Italy's main national research council in researching Venetian protection strategies, wouldn't say how much Bezos was donating but noted contacts began in April, well before the protests started.
Advertisement
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pressure to Seal Trump Trade Deals Ramps Up With Two Weeks to Go
(Bloomberg) -- Two weeks from President Donald Trump's self-imposed deadline to reach deals with the US's major trading partners, some of the most-watched talks aimed at clinching agreements to avoid higher tariffs are struggling to get over the finish line. Bezos Wedding Draws Protests, Soul-Searching Over Tourism in Venice US State Budget Wounds Intensify From Trump, DOGE Policy Shifts Commuters Risk Lives in Johannesburg With Taxi Groups at War There's a lot at stake: As of July 9, exporting nations without a bilateral accord in place will face Trump's so-called 'Liberation Day' tariffs that are much higher than the current baseline 10% level applied to most countries. Only the UK has secured something on paper, though that pact kept the 10% so-called reciprocal rate in place and left unresolved one of Britain's pain points — 25% steel duties. On a separate track is China, which has a fragile truce with the US that extends into mid-August to give time for negotiations to play out. QuickTake: A Guide to Trade Talks, Trump-Style Countries engaged in what Washington views as productive discussions may get their deadline extended. Court challenges to Trump's legal authority for tariffs have provided an added element of uncertainty for companies that have spent the past 10 weeks either front-loading orders or hoping his threats of higher import taxes are just a negotiating tactic. Here's a rundown of where various talks stand: European Union The best-case scenario remains an EU-US agreement on principles that would allow the negotiations to continue beyond the early July deadline, Bloomberg has reported. Trump complained last week about the EU talks, threatening to give up and impose unilateral tariffs. The EU, which has been seeking a mutually beneficial deal, will assess any end-result and at that stage decide what level of asymmetry — if any — it's willing to accept or whether it will push ahead with countermeasures to correct any imbalances. India Trade officials from India and the US are still keen to clinch an interim deal before the deadline, but the two sides appear to be digging in their heels on some key issues, particularly on agricultural goods. The US is seeking access to India's markets for its genetically modified crops, a request India has denied, while New Delhi wants an exemption to the reciprocal tariffs as well as sectoral duties. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi missed an opportunity to advance the trade deal with Trump when the US leader left the Group of Seven meeting in Canada earlier than planned last week. Vietnam Communist Party chief To Lam is set to lead a delegation of officials and business executives to the US, aiming to meet with Trump and clinch additional deals with US firms to help finalize an agreement. The nation has offered to boost purchases of American products from Boeing airplanes to agricultural goods to get a deal. Negotiators are close to a framework agreement under which Vietnam is pushing for tariffs in the range of 20% to 25%, Bloomberg News previously reported. Japan US auto tariffs appear to be the key barrier to a deal between Washington and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's government, which is bracing for talks to drag on. Trump and Ishiba failed to reach an agreement at the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Canada, despite holding three prior calls to discuss the tariffs. Opposition leader Yoshihiko Noda said after a meeting with Ishiba that the US is most concerned about the auto trade deficit and that no consensus has been reached. Both sides are now trying to schedule the next round of high-level trade talks. The US is set to raise tariffs on Japan to 24%, on top of existing duties of 25% on cars and 50% on steel and aluminum. South Korea South Korea has yet to make meaningful progress in trade negotiations. New Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo met with US officials in Washington on June 23, aiming to secure exemptions from tariffs, including those already imposed on cars and steel. This comes after a planned meeting between President Lee Jae Myung, who took office earlier this month, and Trump at the G-7 summit was called off at the last minute as Trump left the event early amid rising tensions in the Middle East. South Korea faces the risk of a 25% tariff, further squeezing its export-dependent industries already strained by the sectoral duties. Thailand Thailand, which has been threatened with a 36% tariff, began its delayed talks with the US last week. Permanent Secretary for Commerce Vuttikrai Leewiraphan said last Wednesday that Thailand's proposals are good and stand a chance to bring down the tariff to the 10% baseline. The official proposal was submitted to Washington last week and detailed negotiations are underway, the finance minister said Tuesday. The US was Thailand's largest export market last year, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the country's total outbound shipments. Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that Malaysia's negotiations with the US have been going well after officials met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington. Anwar said the imposition of the US tariffs was a 'significant challenge' and added that about 60% of semiconductor products from Malaysia was exported to the US alone. Malaysia is seeking to reduce the US tariffs to below 10% for sectors critical to both economies. Both sides have agreed to finalize the talks before the tariff reprieve expires, Malaysia's trade ministry said this week. Switzerland The European nation, also facing among the highest tariff rates of US allies, sketched a compromise around easing market access for some agricultural products, with Economy Minister Guy Parmelin saying he aimed to reach an agreement by early July. Since then, the US Treasury added Switzerland to its list of countries monitored for foreign exchange practices earlier this month. And Trump's erratic trade policies contributed to the Swiss central bank cutting policy rates by 25 basis points last week after a surge of the franc. Canada Targeted with tariffs other than the reciprocal levies, the US's northern neighbor is seeking to make a deal by mid-July, according to Prime Minister Mark Carney who met Trump on the sidelines of the G-7 meeting. There are still differences between the two nations, according to the US president, who's complained in the past about undocumented migration and fentanyl issues along the border. Canada is preparing to increase tariffs next month on steel and aluminum — currently at 25% — if talks stall. Mexico Mexico and the US were earlier this month nearing a deal that would remove Trump's 50% tariffs on steel imports up to a certain cap, Bloomberg News reported. President Claudia Sheinbaum expected to meet with Trump soon after their planned encounter was canceled when he departed early from a G-7 summit in Canada. A formal start to the review of the USMCA — the free trade agreement between Canada, US and Mexico — is expected to begin later this year. --With assistance from Alberto Nardelli. Luxury Counterfeiters Keep Outsmarting the Makers of $10,000 Handbags Is Mark Cuban the Loudmouth Billionaire that Democrats Need for 2028? Ken Griffin on Trump, Harvard and Why Novice Investors Won't Beat the Pros Can 'MAMUWT' Be to Musk What 'TACO' Is to Trump? What Mike Tyson and the Bond Market Can Teach Trump on Debt ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
Amazon to invest £40 billion in the UK over next three years
LONDON — Amazon will invest £40 billion ($54 billion) in the U.K. over the next three years, the e-commerce titan announced Tuesday. The company said it plans to spend the money on building four new fulfillment centers — large warehouses where it prepares orders for delivery — as well as upgrades and expansions to its existing operations buildings across the country. The announcement was cheered by the British government, which has been courting investments from major tech players of late as it looks to boost domestic growth and productivity. U.K. monthly gross domestic product shrank 0.3% in April, as U.S. President Donald Trump's trade tariffs and domestic tax rises kicked in. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement that the investment would create thousands of new jobs — and was a sign the government's growth plan was working. Amazon said the new roles as a result of the investment would include 2,000 positions at a previously announced fulfillment center in Hull and an additional 2,000 jobs at another site in Northampton. The firm also plans to open two new buildings at its corporate headquarters in East London, improve its transportation infrastructure throughout the U.K. and redevelop Bray Film Studios — which it acquired last year — in Berkshire. Last year, Amazon announced a five-year £8 billion investment to build and operate data centers in the U.K. to boost compute capacity for artificial intelligence. The tech giant isn't alone in making big bets on the U.K. Earlier this month, TikTok announced plans to open a new, 135,000-square-foot office in London's Barbican area. The country also received praise from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who called it an "incredible place to invest." At the same time, tax hikes introduced by Finance Minister Rachel Reeves have led to criticisms from tech entrepreneurs that the U.K. is not a welcoming enough environment for high-growth startups.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
European Banks Face Hit to Profits in S&P Trade War Stress Test
(Bloomberg) -- European banks would see their profits eroded if an escalation of trade tensions with the US leads to souring corporate loans, according to S&P Global Ratings. Bezos Wedding Draws Protests, Soul-Searching Over Tourism in Venice US State Budget Wounds Intensify From Trump, DOGE Policy Shifts Taxi Wars Put Johannesburg Commuters in Peril as Rail Flounders Credit Agricole and BPCE of France, Frankfurt-based Commerzbank, Dutch lender Rabobank and Denmark's DLR Kredit stand to be hit hardest, according to calculations by the credit ratings company. S&P said none of the 91 banks it examined were projected to face an annual loss in its stress test. The uncertainty over how the US will implement tariffs on trading partners has investors asking how big the hit will be for Europe. Yet the region's lenders, often seen as a proxy for the broader economy, face the latest shock with comparatively low levels of bad loans and profits that have been bolstered by higher interest rates. Bloomberg reported last month that a biennial regulatory stress test run by the European Central Bank and the European Banking Authority is on track to deliver a lesser hit to banks' capital ratios than the previous one. S&P's test included three hypothetical scenarios for how an escalation of trade tensions could play out. In the most severe, the median hit to banks' profit stood at 29%, the ratings company said in a report to be published on Tuesday. S&P said the five banks stood out because they had a combination of more exposure to sectors for which it applied higher loss rates, larger loan books compared to total assets, lower expected profitability and higher economic risk in the countries where they operate. 'We believe our stress test findings support our assessment that European banks have improved their resilience to credit risks substantially,' S&P analysts including Nicolas Charnay in Paris, wrote. 'They also underpin our expectation that upcoming regulatory stress tests conducted by authorities will likely reach similar conclusions.' The EBA and ECB are scheduled to publish results of their own examination at the beginning of August. Watchdogs draw on the results to determine how much capital banks should hold as a safety cushion, which in turn influences the amount of money they have available for investor payouts. Luxury Counterfeiters Keep Outsmarting the Makers of $10,000 Handbags Is Mark Cuban the Loudmouth Billionaire that Democrats Need for 2028? Ken Griffin on Trump, Harvard and Why Novice Investors Won't Beat the Pros Can 'MAMUWT' Be to Musk What 'TACO' Is to Trump? What Mike Tyson and the Bond Market Can Teach Trump on Debt ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
